Swimming device.



R. N. BRESSLER.

SWIMMING DEVICE. APPLlcAloN man DEc.\,1915.

Patented Mar. 18., 1919.

54h54.). InVVHI f REGINA N'. BEE'ssL'EE, or NEW YORK, N. Y'.,

SWIMMING DEVICE.

Specification of Iletters Patent.

Applicaties fiieav'neeember 1; 191155 serial No. 54;421;

To all whom z'timay concerns' Be it known that ]',.-REG`INAx N.BREssIZER, a citizen of the: United States; residing., at New York city,inl the'county' of New York andi State'of New York, have inventedcertain new and' useful: Imprevements in Swimming Devices, fullvdescribed and representedI inthe following specification and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of thefsame.

My inventionE relatesto' swimming devices designed to be' used' bybathcrs or swimmers for thepurposelof'assisting them in learning ltoswim; and designed also tol serve as'safety devicesI or lifepreservers.

The objectsof myinvention' are to provide animprove'dl swimmingdevieecapable of being inflated'and thus renderedv buoyant, and which-may bereadily put onby `the user and securedE in; place in' such a= positionas to supportA cr assist in' supperting him whenr in the water, while attheI same time f permitting al free movementcf the arms and legs inswimming; to'provid'e a swimming device of the vtypeabove referred towith new and improved means whereby it may be tethered to the user' bymeans of a1 flexible' towing cord and towed' behind him' inI swimming,`so that .when the device* isnot secured in place upon the' user andacting;j to' sup-port it will nevertheless be withinl his reach and,v bypulling in' the'towing cord, may be retrieved and put on: or used as"desired; to' provide improved means; whereby air may be supplied to theinterior of the-inflatable members? o'r l'oats'which form parts'of thedevice, and prevented from escaping therefrm-7 such inflatin-gmeansbeingespecially intended and adapted for use on inflatable" ioatsofswimmingv deviices but also suitable for other inatable devices; and tootherwise improve uplonl swimmingv devices of the kind or type towhiclrmy invent'icrr relates, as will hereinafter appear.`

With the above and' other objects' inview', my invention' consistsin theimproved'swimming devicesand'rinE the various parts thereof, illustratedin the accompanying" drawing andA hereinafter particularly described andclaimed',v and' inV such variations and modifications thereof as willIbel obvious t'o those skilledin the art to'which my invention; relates.

In the accompanying drawing; illustrating the preferredJ embodiment' ofmy inventien:

Figure l is a view showing my'improve'd swimming device inx elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional' view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. lshowing` oneof the inflating or valve devices secured in one'of theinflatable float members g' Fig'. 3 is a similar View showing the partsassembled butY before the bindingferrule has beenvl compressed lig. 4 isa sectionon linefle ofA Fig.4 3'; an Y.

Figs. 5' and 6- are enlarged sectional views taken respectively on line5'-5 and' line 6-6 of Fig. l. Y

Referring to the drawing,` the reference numeral 8 designates a' bandor'belt made of flexible materialV and designed` to extend about? thewaist of the u's'e'r, and the free ends of which' are tied tegether tothereby'secure the device in place in a manner well understood bypersons familiarwith. swimming, life preserving, and.` similar devices,this band being commonly formed' from woven fabric or webbing,although'itI may'befmade of'any suitable materialiV Carried by the beltoribandlS are t-we holl low inflatable'imembers or floats 9 9, formedfrom woven' fabric or .other suitable flexible sheet ymaterial whichl isimpervious 'tov airand water. The materiali consider best for thepurpose is' a closely w'oven cotton fabric which' has no rubber or otherimpervious coating'but which becomes impervious yto air when wet. Whenyinflated; the floats beco'me buoyant and act to sup'portthey user ofLthe device when in` the water. Thesefloatmembers are most desirablysecured tothe band 8 along their upper edges, as shown, and are entirelyseparate from one another andi' are inflated through separateinflati'ngI or valve devices, Dnc such inflating" devicebeingprovidec'l` for each inflatable4 member or oat, and the floatsare'desirabl'y of-su'ch-size-that if only one is inflated it will besuflicient to supportI the user. t

The inflatable members are commonly secured to the'- belt or band atadistance from one another,as shown inthefdrawing, so that when thedevice is in use they will be upon opposite sides of thel body of theuser. The. inflatable members; being-i4 commonly made' from li'ghtwovenv fabric, the device as a whole may be made very light inA weight,and when notfirr use maybe folded soy as to take up but little-space. A'device' of .suliicient capacity t:` supportfthe-heaviest person when inthe water may be readily folded and carried in the pocket.

The reference numeral 10 designates a flexible towing member or cordformed from woven fabric or webbing or other suitable material, one endof said cord being permanently secured to the band 8 at a point betweenthe inflatable members 9, see Figs. 1 and 6, and the other end beingfree, when the cordis released, so that it may be tied about the waistof the user, Afastened to his clothing, or otherwise secured to hisperson.

The flexible towing member or cord is designed for use at times when theswimming device is not secured in place about the waist of and acting tosupport the user in the water, the belt and the inflatable members orfloats being at su-ch times towed by the swimmer through and by means ofthe towing cord, the user then swimming unassisted by the floats; andthe length of the towing cord is such that the belt and floats will thenbe towed some distance behind the swimmer so as not to interfere withhis movements. The belt and floats, however, being tethered to the userby the towing cord, may be readily retrieved by pulling upon said cord;and the belt and floats may thus be easily secured and, if desired, puton by the user when and in case he finds himself in need of or desiresto avail himself of the supporting effect of said elements, as will beunderstood. I

The towing member 10 when not in use as above explained is folded anddoubled upon itself, and held in that condition, so as to be out of theWlay and not liable to interfere with the movements of the user.

' preferably accomplished by the holding means best shown in Figs. 5 and6 in which the numeral 11 designates a flexible clasping or holdingdevice one end of which is permanently secured to the band 8, and theother end of which is provided with a socket 12 to coperate with a stud13, the socket and stud forming separable fastening means for securingthe free end of said clasp device to the band, the towing member beingthus held secured to the band in a compact and folded condition, as willbe understood from Figs. 5 and 6. When the towing member is to be used,the latch device 11 or other holding means is unfastened, the free endof said towing member secured to the user, and the belt and floatspermitted to trail behind him, all `as above explained.

Referring now to the inflating or valve device whereby air may besupplied to the interior of one of the inflatable members and preventedfrom escaping therefrom and the manner of securing the same to theinflatable member, and referring especially to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 The'wallof the inflatable member is shown as merging into and so shaped as toprovide a neck 14 having an opening Within which the inflating device islocated,

This is the same being held in place within the neck in any suitable waybut preferably as hereinafter explained. The reference numeral 15designates a metallic nipple having an air passage 16 through which airmay be supplied to the interior of the inflatable member 9; and 17designates a collapsible and resilient tube ofl india rubber or othersuitable llexible and elastic material, the upper end of which surroundsthe lower 'or inner end of the nipple, said tube extending beyond theend of the nipple and into the interior of the inflatable member, asshown.

In providing the valve device and securing it in place as aboveexplained, the nipple and collapsible tube are assembled and placedwithin the neck 14, and a ferrule 18 is placed over the neck as shown inFigs. 3 and 4. This ferrule is made from a suitable metal or othermaterial which may be readily compressed to reduce the diameter thereof,and after the parts have been assembled as above,the ferrule iscompressed by a suitable mechanism or device whereby its diameter isreduced to such an extent that the neck 18 is forced against the outsideof the tube 17, and the upper end of said tube forced against the innerroughened end of the nipple 15;' thus securing a binding engagementbetween 'the several parts and holding the nipple, tube and ferrule inplace, as will be understood; the various elements assuming thecondition shown in Fig. 2 after the nipple has been f fully compressed.100

The tube 17 not only serves as a packing between the ferrule and neck 14and the nipple l5, but the inner projecting end of this tube serves toprotect the adjacent portions of the float member by preventing their105 drawing directly against the end of the nipple, and also serves as ameans whereby the escape of air through the nipple may be temporarilyprevented.r

The outer end of the nippleA is closed by a 110 removable Cap 19 inthreaded engagement therewith and provided with a packing 20 so thatwhen the cap is screwed into place the escape ofl air from theinflatable member will be prevented. In order to prevent 115 the cap 19from being lost, it is connected to theswimming device by means of aflexible tape or other cord 21 which will not interfere with thescrewing ofthe cap on to or offl from the end of the nipple, but will120 elfectually prevent its loss when detached from the nipple.

To inflate either of the floats, its valve cap 19 is removed and air issupplied to the float through the nipple by'blowing in from the 125mouth or otherwise. After the float member has been sufficientlyinflated or between breaths the escape of air is temporarily preventedby collapsing or flattening the inwardly extending end of the tube 17,this 130 being readily accomplished by pressing the adjacent portionsof the wall of the inflatable member inward as by pressure of the thumband linger, such pressure being transmitted through the walls and to theend of the tube to collapse the same. The escape of air from theinflatable member may thus be readily prevented until the closing cap isscrewed on to the end of the nipple, after which the tube may bereleased and escape of air will be prevented by the cap.

What is claimed is:

l. A swimming device, comprising a flexible band adapted to extend aboutthe waist of the user, two inflatable members carried by said band andspaced apart, a flexible towing member one end of which is secured tosaid band at a point between said inflatable members, and means forholding said flexible towing member secured in a folded conditionagainst the band.

2. A swimming device, comprising a flexible band adapted to extend aboutthe waist of the user, two inflatable members carried by said band andspaced apart, a flexible towing member one end of which is secured tosaid band at a point between said inflatable members, a holding devicesecured at one end to said band and adapted to engage said flexibletowing member when in a folded condition and hold it against said band,and separable fastening means whereby the free end of said holdingdevice may be detachably secured to said band.

3. The combination with a swimming device comprising a float member, ofa flexible towing member, one end of which is secured to the swimmingdevice, and means for holding said flexible towing member secured in afolded condition against a part of the swimming device.

In testimony whereof I vhave hereunto set my hand in the presence ofsubscribing witnesses.

REGINA N. BRESSLER.

Witnesses:

HYMAN W. DIGKER, SIMON A. BREssLER, Louis ZIPsER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

